HMRC's Coding Enigma II

The confusion over HMRC's erroneous tax codes being sent out this year continues to rumble on.

Yesterday an HMRC spokesman said:

"It's a hangover from the old system.

Before we had five or six systems sending out tax codes, but because of last year's upgrade we now have one. The new system is basically picking up duplicates from the old one and flushing them out.

The new system is working as it should, and we're confident that it will not happen again in future."

Today, on their own website, HMRC (having been stung into action by the media) now say:

"The transition to the new system has, however brought to light discrepancies in our existing records and this is resulting in a number of incorrect notices being issued.

The vast majority of notices will be correct but there will be cases where, because the data carried over from our old systems does not match employers' data, some people receive an incorrect coding notice or more than one coding notice for the same employment because of these discrepancies.

This is a transitional issue caused by data mismatches, rather than an IT issue and will be resolved once we have cleared these from the system."

So it's not "duplicates", but "discrepancies in existing records". It most certainly isn't an "IT issue"!

I am having trouble understanding this, if there were discrepancies in existing records wouldn't that mean that HMRC would have sent out incorrect coding notices in previous years then?

I wonder what the reason will be next week?

Tax does have to be taxing.

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Tax Investigation for Dummies, by Nick Morgan, provides a good and easy to read guide for anyone caught up in an HMRC tax investigation. A must read for any Self Assessment taxpayer.

Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies

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HMRC's Hangover

HMRC have explained away the cause of the new PAYE IT system issuing wrong codes, it's a hangover!

An HMRC spokesperson is quoted by ZDNet UK:

"It's a hangover from the old system.

Before we had five or six systems sending out tax codes, but because of last year's upgrade we now have one. The new system is basically picking up duplicates from the old one and flushing them out.

The new system is working as it should, and we're confident that it will not happen again in future."

Seemingly the issue mainly affects those who have changed jobs in the last two years.

So that's alright then!

Tax does have to be taxing.

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What is TAXWISE?

TAXWISE is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Taxwise

Tax Investigation for Dummies, by Nick Morgan, provides a good and easy to read guide for anyone caught up in an HMRC tax investigation. A must read for any Self Assessment taxpayer.

Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

HMRC Dies Another Day

Another day, another HMRC IT cock up.

Hot on the heels to the avalanche of incorrect coding notices being sent out by HMRC, comes news in the Yorkshire Post of another IT related blunder by HMRC.

Seemingly 186,115 injured armed forces veterans and war widows have received letters from HMRC telling them that they will be taxed at 20% on their war pensions (war pensions actually have a not taxed (NT) status).

The letters were sent in error, as a result of "computer error" (isn't it funny how computers are always blamed, yet it is a human that designs and programmes them?).

Will HMRC be correcting this error?

Yes...but only after the ex servicemen and their widows contact HMRC first (ie HMRC will not correct the error automatically).

All very well, if the veterans are fully fit and have nothing better to do with their lives!

However, there are those who are very unwell (mentally and physically), who will stand for them against HMRC?

Anyone receiving a war pension, who is concerned, can call the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency SPVA helpline on 0800 169 2277.

Given the fact that HMRC is snowed under with queries/complaints etc, and apparently grinding to a halt, how long will this take to rectify?

Tax does have to be taxing.

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What is TAXWISE?

TAXWISE is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Taxwise

Tax Investigation for Dummies, by Nick Morgan, provides a good and easy to read guide for anyone caught up in an HMRC tax investigation. A must read for any Self Assessment taxpayer.

Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Snowed Under

In keeping with the season, the FT reports that HMRC is snowed under with claims for tax repayments from companies.

Seemingly, businesses are waiting twice as long for corporation tax rebates from HMRC than they were a year ago.

Waiting times of a month (in comparison with 14 days last year) are now common.

The problem arises because the recession has increased the number of claims for rebates, which HMRC simply doesn't have the resources to handle in a timely manner.

Self assessment rebates for individuals are processed automatically. However, business rebates are processed manually.

Doubtless there will be those who argue (as they have done before) that if returns were input by businesses earlier in the year, the backlog would be lessened.

That is not unreasonable, up to a point. However, it should be remembered that the businesses are trying to drum up business and continue in operations; their time and energy are focused on that. HMRC's role is to make tax administration/payment etc simple, efficient and as least time consuming as possible.

Tax does have to be taxing.

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What is TAXWISE?

TAXWISE is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Taxwise

Tax Investigation for Dummies, by Nick Morgan, provides a good and easy to read guide for anyone caught up in an HMRC tax investigation. A must read for any Self Assessment taxpayer.

Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

HMRC's Coding Enigma

It seems that HMRC's shiny new NIC & PAYE system (NPS), heralded as a major step forward by HMRC, isn't working terribly well.

What government managed IT project ever works "terribly well"? (Delete the word "well" from the previous phrase and you have the reality).

For reasons that only a computer would know, the HMRC database has "misplaced/lost" the information it is meant to contain about people leaving jobs.

The result?

The system is combining taxpayers' current employment records with old data, thus creating additional wealth and income which doesn't exist. This causes the system to calculate incorrect personal allowances and thus issue incorrect tax codes (which are of course used by employers to deduct tax).

How many people is this screw up affecting?

HMRC is issuing approximately 25 million tax coding notices this year, that is double the amount issued in the previous year. Therefore, it is not unreasonable to assume that several million taxpayers may be adversely affected by this.

Taxpayers need to be more than vigilant this year, when they receive their coding notices, and ensure that where there is an error that they notify HMRC immediately.

Quite how long it will take HMRC to rectify these errors remains to be seen.

Enigma - Sadeness

Tax does have to be taxing.

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What is TAXWISE?

TAXWISE is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Taxwise

Tax Investigation for Dummies, by Nick Morgan, provides a good and easy to read guide for anyone caught up in an HMRC tax investigation. A must read for any Self Assessment taxpayer.

Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Information

My thanks to a loyal reader who nudged me to take a look at the evidence given to the Public Accounts Committee on 7th December 2009 by HMRC.

Question 38 appears to indicate that HMRC have committed something of a "faux pas", by issuing assessments to the wrong accountants; ie they have sent details of some people's income etc to accountants not authorised to receive it.

Isn't disclosure of such information to non authorised people "illegal" under the rules of HMRC? It certainly appears to be breach of the Data Protection Act.

"Q38 Mr Bacon: Ms Walker, you mentioned the issue of confidentiality. Is it correct - I have got your CV here but I am not sure I am reading the right bit - that you are currently, since October 2008, the Director of PAYE, Self Assessment and National Insurance?

Ms Walker: That is right.

Q39 Mr Bacon: Good. On the National Insurance and PAYE service, the NPS section of the HMRC website, there is a reference under current issues to some notices and statements having been sent to the wrong agents. I will just read the first sentence. It says: "Even though HMRC's self assessment and PAYE systems are showing the correct details some notices and statements have been issued incorrectly to the wrong agent", by which one presumably means in most cases a tax accountant or something like that. How many cases?

Ms Walker: I do not have those figures with me I am afraid.

Q40 Mr Bacon: You do not. Over what period has this been going on?

Ms Walker: It happened over a period in the summer. It has now been fixed as I understand it.

Q41 Mr Bacon: It says on the website - you have anticipated one of my later questions - that "HMRC is due to put a fix in place in December 2009". That has now happened, has it?

Ms Walker: I believe it has.

Q42 Mr Bacon: When you say "over the summer", when did it start?

Ms Walker: The new PAYE system went live at the end of June.

Q43 Mr Bacon: Right, and this breach, data being sent to the wrong people, occurred starting at what point?

Ms Walker: I do not know the details of that; I know it was something that happened in the summer.

Q44 Mr Bacon: Could you write to the Committee with a note explaining that?

Ms Walker: I will do, yes.

Q45 Mr Bacon: Have you had any discussions with the Information Commissioner about this or anyone in HMRC because it would be appear to be an obvious breach of one of the principles of data protection, which is that information must be securely kept.

Ms Walker: We have taken advice on that; I would need to write to you and tell you the total answer.

Mr Bacon: You have not talked to the Information Commissioner or you do not know if anyone has talked to the Information Commissioner. You have put on your website - which is what I find extraordinary, especially after the issues with the HMRC and the National Audit Office where, famously, 25 million names went missing - that you have been sending notices and statements out to the wrong people. You have admitted the breach on your website but you do not know whether you have had any discussions with the Information Commissioner.

Q46 Chairman: What is the answer? Do not just all shake your head, either say yes or no.

Ms Strathie: We have taken this in a different context. What you have read, I am assuming, Mr Bacon, is the known problems that we keep updating so that agents and so on know what we are working on and what we are fixing. We owe the Committee a note and we will explain the Information Commissioner point in that.

Q47 Mr Bacon: You are quite right, there are issues that have been resolved and there are current issues. This one is under "Current issues" which suggests that it has not yet been resolved.

Ms Strathie: Yes, and we are just into December, so we will confirm that.

Q48 Mr Bacon: What is the difference between sending a notice to someone who has no right to know it, that informs them, say, that Mrs Smith of Middlesbrough or Mr Jones of Cornwall is on the verge of retirement and T-Mobile sending out information or using the information that they have no right to, to phone people up and say, "Your mobile phone contract is about to expire"? This information can easily be misused by people to do marketing that they have no right to do. You can easily imagine phone calls where people would say, "Hello Mrs Smith, now that you are about to retire ..." and start selling them products. This is potentially an extremely serious breach.

Ms Walker: This is not about information about people who are about to retire as I understand it.

Q49 Mr Bacon: It does not say what it is about but some of them may be in that category, we do not know. If someone is aged 64 then presumably they are about to retire, if they are 53 they are probably less likely to.

Ms Walker: Yes, but that will not be obvious from the information that was sent out.

Q50 Mr Bacon: It might if their date of birth was there.

Ms Walker: I believe these were notices of coding which were sent to the agent when they did not have the correct authority to receive them.

Q51 Mr Bacon: It says they were sent to the wrong agent, had been issued incorrectly to the wrong agent so Mr Smith's tax accountant in Cornwall gets sent something that should have been sent to Mrs Smith's tax accountant in Middlesbrough. That is what it reads like to me. Are you saying that is not the case, that I have misunderstood it?

Ms Walker: I would need to be properly briefed on that. I am sorry, I have not got the details with me.

Q52 Mr Bacon: Perhaps you could send the Committee a detailed note.

Ms Walker: Yes, indeed.

Q53 Chairman: I did not hear that last answer; what did you say?

Ms Walker: I am sorry, I said I do not have the information with me."

Tax does have to be taxing.

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Tax Investigation for Dummies, by Nick Morgan, provides a good and easy to read guide for anyone caught up in an HMRC tax investigation. A must read for any Self Assessment taxpayer.

Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies

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Our Man In Washington

Despite the comments on this site, and the results of staff surveys, not everyone in HMRC loathes their job.

It is refreshing to see that Dave Hartnett is like a veritable "pig in shit" when it comes to his role of "opening up" countries to HMRC inspections, and acting as the UK's envoy in Washington next week at a gathering of tax commissioners.

He is quoted in Accountancy Age:

"Nations are now working together to deal with this issue.

What [HMRC] would really like to do is open up Switzerland.

The UK and many other governments are determined to crush tax evasion through offshore accounts and I think that's what will happen. Otherwise he may find himself posted to places that are less salubrious than Washington.

There are some countries who are resistant.

One or two tax havens would like to be back on an OECD blacklist so they can hoover up money from other people who still want to hide it."

Hartnett doesn't like countries who believe in banking and tax secrecy, adding:

"They believe that a country like the UK should have a major amnesty – not just a disclosure regime – where we forgive [unpaid] taxes and use that to make disclosures, which I don't think the UK is going to do."

Such ambition!

He bestrides the world of tax, like a veritable colossus!

Let us trust that he has not promised his bankrupt masters in Downing Street more than he (and HMRC) can actually/realistically deliver in his/their lifetimes.

Hubris is such an unforgiving mistress!

Tax does have to be taxing.

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What is TAXWISE?

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To find out more, please use this link Taxwise

Tax Investigation for Dummies, by Nick Morgan, provides a good and easy to read guide for anyone caught up in an HMRC tax investigation. A must read for any Self Assessment taxpayer.

Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

HMRC Tells Farmers To Grit Off!

The recent snowy weather produced something of a contra temps between HMRC and some members of the farming community.

HMRC told the National Farmers Union not to use the lower-tax fuel when gritting.

Under current rules farmers can only grit roads if using tractors powered by white diesel (which is fully-taxed).

Red diesel can only be used in tractors on farmers' own farm tracks, or on public roads to clear routes of snow to allow feed deliveries or milk collections.

However, when a farmer intends to use grit on a clear road as a preventative measure he must use white diesel (ie drain his tank of red first and replace it with white).

Fair enough under normal circumstances.

However, during the coldest snap in thirty years or so do you not think that some common sense could have been applied and the rule temporarily put into abeyance?

Tax does have to be taxing.

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What is TAXWISE?

TAXWISE is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Taxwise

Tax Investigation for Dummies, by Nick Morgan, provides a good and easy to read guide for anyone caught up in an HMRC tax investigation. A must read for any Self Assessment taxpayer.

Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

IT Matters

As the online filing deadline of 31 January looms ever larger on the horizon, some taxpayers and their agents who file online are experiencing the traditional January technical hiccup in online services provided by HMRC.

Silicon.com reports that HMRC has received about 300 complaints from people who have been unable to view their tax information after logging into their HMRC account.

They report being unable to view their previous years' self-assessments and tax returns. This means that certain details, required for completion of this year's returns, need to be requested from HMRC in hard copy form.

All very well if the deadline was not quite so close. However, HMRC have stated that there will be delays in sending out hard copies because the tax offices (not unreasonably) are busy at this time of year.

HMRC are quoted:

"If anyone is unable to file on time because HMRC was unable to provide them with the information they need we would consider a claim that they had a reasonable excuse for not filing on time."

HMRC went on to state that it is working with Capgemini (its IT supplier) to fix the problems, which have been going on for a month.

Are there any other ongoing problems with the system? Feel free to share.

Tax does have to be taxing.

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What is TAXWISE?

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To find out more, please use this link Taxwise

Tax Investigation for Dummies, by Nick Morgan, provides a good and easy to read guide for anyone caught up in an HMRC tax investigation. A must read for any Self Assessment taxpayer.

Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Hanging On The Telephone

The National Audit Office (NAO) report that up to 44 million calls to HMRC went unanswered in the year 2008-09.

Out of the 103M calls made to HMRC's directorate handling telephone enquiries (an increase of 22% compared to the previous year), 57% (58M) were answered (down from 71% in the previous year).

The National Audit Office stated:

"In terms of handling telephone enquiries, the Department is not currently achieving value for money, as it recognises.".

Tax does have to be taxing.

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What is TAXWISE?

TAXWISE is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Taxwise

Tax Investigation for Dummies, by Nick Morgan, provides a good and easy to read guide for anyone caught up in an HMRC tax investigation. A must read for any Self Assessment taxpayer.

Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Chippies Take a Battering

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) have warned HMRC that the campaign aimed at dealing with non-compliance in the medical profession is not treating taxpayers consistently.

Doctors' unpaid tax will be collected, as well as interest and a fixed 10% penalty.

However, HMRC are also running a campaign aimed at fish and chip shops where there are no restrictions on the penalties.

Why treat chippies differently from doctors?

Bob Crawford, Convener of the ICAS Tax Committee, said:

"It appears that our chippies are taking a battering compared to our doctors, and there's no clear reason why.

We support HMRC's continuing efforts to tackle non-compliance, but for any campaign to gain acceptance, the criteria for penalties should be consistently applied.

We question why doctors will be dealt with by a 10% fixed penalty, whilst fish and chip shops could be on the hook for a far higher penalty, for similar amounts of unpaid tax."

Tax does have to be taxing.

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What is TAXWISE?

TAXWISE is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Taxwise

Tax Investigation for Dummies, by Nick Morgan, provides a good and easy to read guide for anyone caught up in an HMRC tax investigation. A must read for any Self Assessment taxpayer.

Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

The Grim RIPA

It would appear that HMRC have jumped on the bandwagon of our "beloved" and "respected" local councils, they have started to use the Regulation of Investigative Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) to spy on suspected tax evaders.

RIPA was, in theory, passed to allow counter terrorism agencies to monitor terrorist suspects and serious criminal activity. However, local councils have been using it for all manner of non terrorist activity (eg monitoring suspect dog fouling owners).

HMRC have now got in on the act and, according to a Parliamentary answer, have been granted the right to use RIPA 5,492 times in 2009.

According to the Telegraph, this is an 80% increase in four years.

Tax does have to be taxing.

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What is TAXWISE?

TAXWISE is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Taxwise

Tax Investigation for Dummies, by Nick Morgan, provides a good and easy to read guide for anyone caught up in an HMRC tax investigation. A must read for any Self Assessment taxpayer.

Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Office Closures Official Announcement

Here is a copy of the official announcement by Lesley Strathie (CEO of HMRC) re the office closures. The text was retyped and sent to me by a loyal reader.

As at the time of writing, I still can't find it on the HMRC site.

"Today, we have informed our people in around 130 of our buildings that we plan to stopp all business activity, apart from any enquiry centre presence, in their office in 2010/11

These changes are part of our ongoing Workforce Change programme of rationalising our estate and enable us to introduce more efficient ways of working. The decision to withdraw from these locations was previously announced in our regional review programme.

Enquiry Centre service will continue in area where they are cuurently provided.

We have started to hold discussions with those people directly affected by these decision but I want to take this opportunity to keep evryone else informed about what is happening.

Currently , there are around 3.150 HMRC people working in 130 building. Approximately 1.450 people will move to a new location, or where appropriate work in the Enquiry Centre. This will happen as soon as possible after january 13.

The remaining 1,700 staff will be declared surplus and will be given the oppotunity, where approriate, to move to another HMRC office where vacancies exist. They will also be eligble to apply for voluntary redundancy on compulsory terms. These are the best available under the Civil Service Pension Scheme.

We are committed to doing everything we can to avoid compulsory redundancies wherever possible and for those who wish to continue their Civil Service careers, we will work hard to redeploy people both within HMRC as well as other government depts and agencies.

This committment is contained in the cabinets Office;s 'protocol for Handling Surplus Staff situations' as well as our own agreement with Departmental Trade Unions.

The reality is that we have to fundamentally reassess the way we deliver services to our customers. That means a reduced workforce concentrated in fewer locations.

These difficult decisions have not been taken lightly and are no reflection on the excellent work undertaken by people in the affected location. I appreciate that the length of the Regional Review Programmer has created a period of uncertainty and that is why we have now confimed the final position of these offices, enabling those affected to make informed decisions about their future.

We will do all we can to support colleagues through this diffcult process. That means we must be prepared to help colleagues move to new areas of work where vacancies arise. Thank you in anticiaption of your support."

Tax does have to be taxing.

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What is TAXWISE?

TAXWISE is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Taxwise

Tax Investigation for Dummies, by Nick Morgan, provides a good and easy to read guide for anyone caught up in an HMRC tax investigation. A must read for any Self Assessment taxpayer.

Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Office Closures

The Public and Commercial Services Union state that HMRC have confirmed today that 130 offices will be closed.

I cannot find the confirmation on the HMRC site. Please can someone send me the link?

Thanks.

Tax does have to be taxing.

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What is TAXWISE?

TAXWISE is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Taxwise

Tax Investigation for Dummies, by Nick Morgan, provides a good and easy to read guide for anyone caught up in an HMRC tax investigation. A must read for any Self Assessment taxpayer.

Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Special Announcement Updated

I am advised that HMRC is announcing the future of 130 offices tomorrow (Wednesday). The meetings will be held in 130 offices between 10-12.

The meetings are deemed important enough for at least one enquiry centre to be closed for two hours, whilst the announcements are being made.

Additionally, I am advised that HMRC senior management are being brought in to handle questions afterwards.

Please can someone provide me with more details about this?

Thanks.

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

What is TAXWISE?

TAXWISE is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Taxwise

Tax Investigation for Dummies, by Nick Morgan, provides a good and easy to read guide for anyone caught up in an HMRC tax investigation. A must read for any Self Assessment taxpayer.

Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

HMRC Backing Britain

UHY Hacker Young claim that, during the last six months, HMRC lodged 43% of all creditor petitions seeking to wind up companies to recover debts.

Well done lads!

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

What is TAXWISE?

TAXWISE is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Taxwise

Tax Investigation for Dummies, by Nick Morgan, provides a good and easy to read guide for anyone caught up in an HMRC tax investigation. A must read for any Self Assessment taxpayer.

Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Simple!

HMRC has announced that it intends to improve its communications with the outside world, in an attempt to help the outside world understand what it is talking about.

As such it has rewritten over 200 of its standard letters, in order to make them simpler and easier to understand.

Tax does have to be taxing.

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What is TAXWISE?

TAXWISE is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Taxwise

Tax Investigation for Dummies, by Nick Morgan, provides a good and easy to read guide for anyone caught up in an HMRC tax investigation. A must read for any Self Assessment taxpayer.

Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Liechtenstein Is So Bracing!

As predicted those with (as yet) undeclared offshore holdings seem to be opting for HMRC's Liechtenstein Disclosure Facility (LDF), rather than HMRC's New Disclosure Opportunity (NDO).

PwC have estimated that, with the deadline now gone for the NDO, approximately 13,000 individuals registered for the NDO.

Given the fact that the NDO has harsher penalties than the LDF this modest figure is not that surprising.

PwC estimate that the NDO will raise approximately £135M.

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

What is TAXWISE?

TAXWISE is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Taxwise

Tax Investigation for Dummies, by Nick Morgan, provides a good and easy to read guide for anyone caught up in an HMRC tax investigation. A must read for any Self Assessment taxpayer.

Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Staff Survey Results 2009

My thanks to one of my loyal readers who pointed me to a page in the HMRC site that lists all manner of research, including the 2009 Staff Survey (taken in Feb 2009). This was referred to in HMRC's Capability Re-Review (published 14 December 2009 by the Cabinet Office).

Rather confusingly HMRC call it "Employee Engagement Survey", and have placed at the bottom of a page called "Research", no wonder I couldn't find it!

The survey makes for dismal reading, and shows differences in key metrics compared with the bench mark (BM) survey undertaken in February 2009. The percentage point difference in positive scores between HMRC results and the median score across all
Government Departments and Agencies taking part in this survey.

Aside from showing a lack of pride in working for HMRC etc, the survey also highlights the culture of bullying that is often mentioned in comments posted on this site by HMRC staff.

Here are a few extracts:

Returns: 53,071
Response rate: 60%

Employee Engagement score

32% -16% compared with BM February 2009

Through statistical analysis the questions that best measure employee engagement say', stay' and strive') have been grouped in an index. The index score is shown below. The questions that make up the index are labelled in the "Results by question" section of this report.

Employee engagement consists of 3 elements:

- Say 21%, -21% compared with BM February 2009
- Stay 60%, -9% compared with BM February 2009
- Strive 14%, -16% compared with BM February 2009

My work gives me a sense of personal accomplishment 46%, -24% compared with BM February 2009

I am sufficiently challenged and motivated in my work 47%, -22% compared with BM February 2009

HMRC as a whole is well managed 11%, -16% compared with BM February 2009

Please state who discriminated against you, or harassed or bullied you over the last 12 months

Response count
Your line manager 2,726
Your colleagues 1,998
Your staff 281
Other 2,175
Prefer not to say 2,093

I am proud to work for HMRC 25%, -23% compared with BM February 2009.

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

What is TAXWISE?

TAXWISE is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Taxwise

Tax Investigation for Dummies, by Nick Morgan, provides a good and easy to read guide for anyone caught up in an HMRC tax investigation. A must read for any Self Assessment taxpayer.

Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Morale Declines

It seems that HMRC's staff survey for 2009 has highlighted, yet again, the problem of low morale.

HMRC's Capability Re-Review (published 14 December 2009 by the Cabinet Office) reported that the staff survey highlighted that only 25% of HMRC's staff were happy to work there in 2009 (worse than in 2007, when the last Capability review was performed).

The review is scathing about HMRC's senior leadership's attempts to improve morale:

"Current efforts by the senior leadership team to tackle poor staff engagement and improve visibility and communications are not working and this is affecting the
productivity of staff. HMRC has a very high rate of sickness absence."

Change management is, to say the least, poor:

"Staff and stakeholders point to examples of change within HMRC that have not been well managed. It is not clear how the senior leadership team takes responsibility for and leads change within the Department.

In the 2009 staff survey, only 11 per cent of all staff and 17 per cent of Senior Civil Servants felt that change is well managed in HMRC, which is significantly below the central government benchmark."

Note: I have tried to find the 2009 staff survey on the HMRC site, but have failed. Please could someone send me a link, if it is on the site. Thanks.

Update: My thanks to a loyal reader, who has sent me a link to the staff survey. A summary will be posted in due course.

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

What is TAXWISE?

TAXWISE is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Taxwise

Tax Investigation for Dummies, by Nick Morgan, provides a good and easy to read guide for anyone caught up in an HMRC tax investigation. A must read for any Self Assessment taxpayer.

Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Staying Power

Having joined HMRC in August 2008 as Chairman, Mike Clasper has now become an Non Executive Director of ITV (the company that gave us "Taking on The Taxman").

Clearly he must feel that the role of Chairman of HMRC is not that demanding.

For you see loyal readers, he holds down more than two roles (he was also recently appointed Chairman of Which?).

As per HMRC:

"Mike is a Non-Executive Director at ITV plc and Chairman of the West London Working Consortium. He has also recently been appointed Chairman of Which, a non-executive part-time post of two days a month."

I assume that none of these roles brings with it a conflict of interest?

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

What is TAXWISE?

TAXWISE is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Taxwise

Tax Investigation for Dummies, by Nick Morgan, provides a good and easy to read guide for anyone caught up in an HMRC tax investigation. A must read for any Self Assessment taxpayer.

Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"